Farm Tough Girl
Chapter 324 - 324 325 Repentance Has Come_1

Chapter 324: Chapter 325: Repentance Has Come_1 Chapter 324: Chapter 325: Repentance Has Come_1 Madam Zhao was startled. “What are you asking this for?”

Qiao Yuanzhen usually wouldn’t even mention Qiao Muniang’s name, as though it would dirty his mouth to utter a word.

Qiao Yuanzhen gave Madam Zhao a cold look, obviously displeased with her prying.

Madam Zhao hurriedly said, “Right, right, right, she came back yesterday. Is there something you need? I’ll go handle it for you.” She couldn’t afford to offend her youngest son, and would face his displeasure at even the slightest hint of negligence.

Qiao Yuanzhen said coldly, “You all just need to do as I say; don’t ask anything else.”

Madam Zhao quickly and awkwardly agreed.

Having just returned, Muniang had thought there would be a pile of things to take care of at Tianzhuang and the Embroidery House, yet everything was managed so well by Madam Liu and Qinghe. She now found herself with nothing to do, as if she were a hands-off shopkeeper, and simply decided to hide out and play with Xi’er for some leisure.

Xi’er wasn’t shy around strangers, and warmed up to everyone. Giggling non-stop every day, in just one day’s time, she didn’t see Muniang as an outsider anymore and always clung to her, wanting her to join in the play.

Muniang laughed, “This girl will definitely be good-natured in the future, just like you are.”

But Qinghe said with a tinge of melancholy, “I’d rather she not take after me, otherwise when she becomes obstinate and won’t listen to reason, she’ll ultimately harm herself.” She was obviously thinking about Qiao Yuanzhen again.

Suddenly, Qingya came in, “Lady, Master Zeng is here.”

Muniang was surprised, but noticed Qinghe behaving as if nothing was amiss, clearly indicating the frequency of a certain someone’s visits no longer surprised her.

Muniang blinked and looked at Qinghe, “Does Zeng Gang come here often?”

Qinghe laughed, “Yes, he says he’s very fond of Xi’er, and this little girl also gets attached to people easily, always liking to stick around him. So Zeng Gang comes to see Xi’er every now and then.”

Muniang chuckled to herself; to come to see Xi’er was just a pretense – his intentions seemed rather obvious. But Qinghe, the poor girl, was still oblivious, actually thinking he made the trips just for a little child.

As soon as Zeng Gang entered and saw Muniang, he was taken aback and then smiled, “Muniang, you’re back? Qinghe has been mentioning you a lot these days. Are you staying for a long time this visit or just for a while?”

Muniang raised her eyebrows. She had only been gone for half a year, so how had the roles of host and guest managed to reverse?

Seeing Muniang’s teasing look, Zeng Gang realized he had been too transparent. His face turned red and he stuttered, “No, no, I mean, your aunt and the others have always been talking about you.”

Muniang burst out laughing, “Alright, alright, come have a seat. Don’t you find it bothersome to keep coming out to our backwoods for nothing?”

Zeng Gang lifted the bundle in his hands, “Didn’t I make some small playthings for Xi’er at home? I just thought they were fun, so I brought them over.”

As he spoke, he took a wooden doll out of the bundle and dangled it in front of Xi’er, “Do you like it?”

Xi’er grinned and laughed heartily, her little hands constantly reaching out for Zeng Gang’s offering, clearly loving it.

Muniang snickered to herself, no wonder Xi’er liked Zeng Gang so much—turns out, he had quite a few “tricks” up his sleeve.

Zeng Gang passed the toy he was holding to Xi’er, letting him play with it. Xi’er, not even wanting his own mother anymore, kept reaching out to Zeng Gang desperately.

Qinghe laughed helplessly, “This child is so heartless. Seeing a little advantage, he doesn’t even want me, his mother, anymore.”

Though she said that, she still handed the child over to Zeng Gang, who received him and shyly smiled, “Xi’er naturally likes you the most. It just so happens that I know a bit about making toys, just to make Xi’er happy.”

Watching this scene, Muniang truly felt what it meant to be well-matched and thought back to when Qiao Yuanzhen and Li Qinghe got married. The villagers had said they were a perfect couple, truly a match of golden boy and jade girl, but they were blind—Qiao Yuanzhen, that bastard, wasn’t even a match for one of Qinghe’s little fingers.

Muniang thought since Zeng Gang rarely visited, she shouldn’t be a third wheel here and interfere. So, she made up a pretext and simply went to the front yard.

She had just walked out when Qingya came up to her and spoke in a low voice, “Lady, something seems to have happened to the Qiao family.”

Muniang raised her eyebrows, “What happened?”

“Didn’t Qiao Yuanzhen fail the Autumn Examination? After that, he’s been down in the dumps every day, acting quite abnormally. He even disappeared for three days, and just this morning when he came back, he was found covered in injuries, saying he was beaten up by thugs in town. Now, he’s unconscious, and the Qiao family is in complete chaos.”

Muniang said indifferently, “So what? Such a person should have been sick and died long ago, we shouldn’t bother with them. Just looking at that pathetic mess annoys me.”

No sooner had she spoken than a wailing cry came from the doorway, “Muniang, oh! It’s your grandmother, open the door for me.”

Muniang frowned, Madam Zhao? What’s she doing here? And why the pitiful crying? What act is this?

“I’ll go have a look.”

Muniang went straight to the doorway, only to see Madam Zhao squatting on the threshold, sobbing inexhaustibly, looking utterly pitiful.

The moment Madam Zhao saw Muniang come out, she immediately clutched at Muniang’s skirt, “Muniang, you must save your fourth uncle. He’s been beaten till he’s unconscious, and our family is so poor we can’t even afford a doctor’s fee. You can’t be so heartless as to watch him die.”

Muniang replied coldly, “You talk as if you didn’t watch me waiting to die just the same.”

Madam Zhao inwardly cursed the little wretch but continued crying, “Everything that happened before was our fault, our Qiao family owes you and your mother, but after all, you’re still the granddaughter of the Qiao family. Now, we have no way out. Otherwise, we wouldn’t come to find you.”

Without any sign of reaction from Muniang, Madam Zhao kept wailing, “Four years ago, when we drove you out, it was purely my superstitious nonsense. I know you hate me in your heart, but now the Qiao family has fallen to this state, and if we continue like this, I’m afraid someone will lose their life. Muniang, as your grandmother, I’m begging you, we were wrong before, please, be merciful and forgive us.”

Muniang watched Madam Zhao’s passionate and seemingly remorseful pleas, but deep down, she remained sharp. This was all too sudden—she had just returned to the village, so why had the Qiao family suddenly had a change of heart?

Hearing the noise, Mrs. Lin and Qinghe also rushed out, and upon seeing her two “daughters-in-law,” Madam Zhao cried even harder as if she had seen her saviors.

Hearing that Qiao Yuanzhen had been beaten into unconsciousness, Qinghe felt a complex mix of feelings. Although there were still some past affections, thinking about what he had once done to her, she couldn’t bring herself to feel too much sympathy.